Books 1-4 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

I can’t begin to explain how much I am enjoying reading these books. I love them so much that I am actually having to restrain myself from reading them all at a stretch, and instead trying to extend the fun a little longer. As you can see though, I am not too successful in the attempt .

This post is less about the story of the books, and more of my impressions. I hope that will suffice because I really don’t want to repeat the story synopsis as so many blogs have already covered these books in quite a lot of detail.

Dead Until Dark: Reading this was very familiar to me because I have watched the first season of True Blood, which stays quite faithful to the book (except for the depiction of Tara and Lafayette). Reading this book just made me love the series all the more. The folks at HBO have done a truly awesome job bringing this to the screen. I really don’t have anything new to say about this book that I haven’t said already about True Blood. All, I can say in short, is that this book rocks!

Living Dead in Dallas: This is the second adventure of Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire boyfriend Bill. This time Sookie ends up in Dallas to find a missing vampire. As soon as they arrive, they are at once right in the middle of events and meet vampires, shapeshifters, another telepath and have to put up a fierce struggle to avoid being captured by the ominous “Fellowship of the Sun” an anti-vampire club. A second plot is the murder of Lafayette. This book didn’t fly quite as quickly as the first. Sookie’s relationship with Bill gets more complicated and you get to sense that something is not going quite right there. There are also more supernatural creatures
introduced, which brings a lot more interest. Then there are the complex explanations and devices needed to explain how vampires who can’t face sunlight travel to, for example, Dallas, which slowed the book quite a bit.

Club Dead: This book is similar to book 2, in the sense that Sookie travels quite a bit out of Bon Temps. She has to save her boyfriend Bill who has been kidnapped by some other vampires. Things get quite exciting here. Sookie’s relationship with Bill is on the rocks, and it looks like there are a couple of very hot love interests in Sookie’s future. All in all, a fun read, but I started wondering if the books were getting too be a bit too monotonous.

Dead to the World: In this book, the action moves back to Bon Temps, which I love. In addition, Sookie’s brother Jason has some more prominence. The adventure just leaps off the page when Sookie finds an amnesiac vampire Eric running on the roads, and her brother goes missing. Sookie again has to be the tough girl and save the day. This is probably the most favorite of my books so far. I really loved Eric, and I loved how the book flowed. I also started loving Sookie much more, I had found her to be getting a bit bland in books 2 and 3, but she really comes into her own here. I also liked that Sookie suffers a lot less physically in this book than in the others where she really gets beaten up a lot. There were a couple of loose ends though (for example, the fairy who seems very randomly placed in the book).

Last word: These books are not great works of literature nor even great fantasy novels. These books are for those readers who read the Twilight series and found them too wimpy. Let’s face it, Sookie Stackhouse is no Isabella Swan. She may not be as physically strong as the vampires, but she is one tough cookie who has her own skills that are very valuable in saving her and her friends from danger. The vampires have respect for her as a human being, which is more than what poor Bella managed to summon up from her little vampire coven.

What I also love about these books are that they are all fairly quick reads. The book is only as long enough for the story, Charlaine Harris has not made extra efforts to plump up the novels or try to make them more than they are. For some reason, this unpretentious writing style is really endearing to me.

What I must also mention is that these books are abso blush-worthy, by that I mean sex and promiscuity and plenty of it. If that bothers you, give these books a skip.

All in all, I am highly enjoying my participation in Beth Fish’s Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

We read fewer books this year than in years past, so we’ve enlisted the woman who kicked off our Friday Recommends guest blogger posts, otherwise known as “sister Ellen,” to help us with this year’s list. Ellen, take it away!

[we hand computer to Ellen]

Despite predictions that my first attempt at blogging would lead to no return-invitations, I have been asked by Voreblog (the Male) to fill in as guest-blogger for their annual review of the best books read in the previous year. So here ‘tis –

Sister Ellen’s Books 2009: a year in review.

Frankly, I don’t remember all the books I’ve read this year. I read a lot of books. (Mr. Grit chimes in here — bad books).  What evs. I liked ‘em, I read ‘em. Even I, however, am just a bit embarrassed when I compare the mountain of literature you see below with last year’s list, compiled by Voreblog. It appears that this year’s list has been composed by a child. But let us judge this year’s feast of literature on quantity, not quality. I read two entire series of novels. Thank you, Jim Butcher. Thank you, Charlaine Harris. I read one-half of an embarrassing novel filled with were-animal sex scenes. Anita Blake, why must you be such a whore? To be fair, I now warn all who venture to my Facebook profile to steer clear of the genre known as paranormal romance.

Books I have devoured in 2009:

Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files:

Storm Front
Fool Moon
Grave Peril
Summer Knight
Death Masks
Blood Rites
Dead Beat
Proven Guilty
White Knight
Small Favor
Turn Coat

Summary: Harry Dresden is the sexiest, most complex wizard-hero I have yet to encounter.  I would have a cup of coffee with him.

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Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Novels:

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead To Worse
Dead and Gone

Summary: S-T-E-A-M-Y. Eric the Vampire/Northman? Yes, please. Bill? Maybe; but it’s a weird name for a vampire. Stories are quick, energetic, entertaining.

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Stieg Larsson’s

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played With Fire

Summary: Great books combining two of my favorite things: journalism and Swedes. There is nothing more awesome than clipping through a book at a furious pace, when suddenly you are made to pause by a passage involving having a cheese sandwich for breakfast. Who does that? Answer: Swedes.

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Suzanne Collins’ “adolescent series”

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire

Summary: Books haven’t made me feel this good since I imagined I was eating blueberries and milk and bread along with the Boxcar Children. Seriously, stories of children surviving in the wilderness get a “thumbs up” from me.

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Vampire Haiku by Ryan Mecum

Summary:

Ryan writes of vamps
Never have I laughed at blood
And sucking so much

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The Reason for God:  Belief in the Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller

Summary: I didn’t know I could like a Presbyterian this much.

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The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Summary: This book led me to proclaim: “Holy Shit! I’ve been doing it all wrong.” As well as: “Well, of course it makes sense that everyone needs a full love-tank.”

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Re-Read:

5, 6 and 7 of the Harry Potter series
Book 4 of the Twilight series

I don’t know what to say for myself. Again, I make a plea for judgment based on quantity (27 new books! 31 if you count the re-reads!). In sum, I got lost in books this year and enjoyed the fantastic escape that books can provide.

Thank you, Voreblog, for allowing me to share.

[Ellen hands computer back to us]

Thank you, Ellen!

If there was a throughline to our reading this year, it was food. We began the year on a Michael Pollan kick and ended it with Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals. In between was Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. You may recall that one of our new year’s resolutions was to eat locally and cook more ourselves. (If we had to grade ourselves, Erin would give herself a “B” while Ben would give himself a “D+.”)

So how do those three books compare?

Kingsolver’s book is the most romantic of the three. For a year she and her family ate only what they could grow on their own farm (or buy locally). No bananas. No oranges. No Pringles. No Hostess Ding Dongs. No Dewey’s Pizza. It sounds dreary, but Kingsolver actually makes it seem desirable. She also acknowledges that she’s #73 on Bernard Goldberg’s “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America” list.

Eating Animals, Foer’s first stab at non-fiction, is a mixed bag. The prospect of fatherhood — and his pet dog, George — leads Foer to reconsider his own eating habits and how he wants to raise his son. This leads Foer to break into a factory farm and relay some truly disgusting revelations about chickens. More philosophical than Kingsolver, Foer is also angrier — he has the zeal of the newly converted. You could argue that his disdain for farms (even the more humane family farms) is simply impractical, and it is. That’s Foer’s point. He wants to provoke. We’d pay money to see him and Barbara Kingsolver in a room together. Extra if Wendell Berry came too. (And really big bucks if Robert Pattinson just happened to wander in.)

Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma is still the food book we measure all others against. While he didn’t quite inspire us to hunt our own boar, Pollan offers a coherent view of everything from the Western diet to the food industry, agribusiness, organic food and the basics of better grocery shopping. In Defense of Food, his bite-size follow-up, sacrifices narrative by focusing on the practical. His new book, Food Rules, releases next week.

Now, without further ado: Our top seven books of the year, conveniently arranged into fiction, non-fiction, and young reader.

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KIDS BOOKS

THE BRIXTON BROTHERS: THE CASE OF THE CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY, Mac Barnett. No book was funnier to read this year than the first entry in the new young reader detective series, The Brixton Brothers. The real mystery here is not why the “Brothers” is plural (there is only one Brixton, the inimitable Steve) but rather why a super-secret stealth group called The Librarians is out to kill our hero for checking out a book on quilting. Barnett is fearless about confronting other impenetrable mysteries too, notably: How do you read a book and dunk a basketball at the same time? Both a spoof and an homage to the likes of Encyclopedia Brown and The Hardy Boys, The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity will amuse a 32-year-old no less than one who’s twelve.

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WHEN YOU REACH ME, Rebecca Stead. If the Newbery Award is worth anything, this book will win it. A brilliant little puzzle of a book, When You Reach Me is also a sly homage to A Wrinkle In Time. A sixth grader named Miranda begins noticing strange little occurrences all around her: first her apartment key is stolen, then a shoe disappears, and suddenly cryptic notes arrive saying things like, “I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.” Whoever is writing the notes knows things about Miranda and the future that nobody should know. Who’s sending them? And why? Around this riddle Stead weaves a story rich with detail and feeling — about growing up, self-discovery, mothers and daughters, and making and losing friends. Plus Dick Clark makes a cameo as a key plot point. Hard to beat that.

(Thank you, Steph Porter and Molly Gillespie, for steering us toward these books.)

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FICTION

MORE OF THIS WORLD OR MAYBE ANOTHER, Barb Johnson. It was not the banner year for short story collections that 2008 was, but 2009 did produce a gem in Barb Johnson’s More of This World or Maybe Another. Johnson’s large-hearted stories trace the lives of New Orleanians trapped in circumstances of abandonment, adultery, heartbreak and desperation; what makes them not just bearable but remarkable (the title story is a wonder to read, and reread) is Johnson’s lean, musical prose, as well as her wit and empathy for all her broken people. They may be unable to escape themselves, but her characters win a sad wisdom just by getting by. What’s not sad is watching Johnson read in person; she’s dry, sharp and witty.

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LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN, Colum McCann. “Things happen. Things collide,” Colum McCann writes in Let The Great World Spin, a sprawling narrative where a dozen disparate lives — a priest, a prostitute, a judge, his grieving wife — converge in tragedy and wonder. Using Philippe Petit’s walk between the Twin Towers in August 1974 as his inspiration, McCann tries for something almost as virtuosic. It’s no failure on his part if it doesn’t completely cohere — his aim is high and his heart is true. After you’re done reading it, rent Man on Wire for more high-wire hijinks. Then string your own tightrope between your roof and the house next door and amaze the neighbors!

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NON-FICTION

COLUMBINE, Dave Cullen. What could have been a morbid, voyeuristic exercise is, in Dave Cullen’s capable hands, a cathartic release. Recreating the almost minute-by-minute events of April 20, 1999 and weaving in a wide angle perspective both of who Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were and what led them to kill, Columbine is a humane, unflinching book. Cullen gives shape to both the horror of the shooting and a community’s attempt to understand and forgive in the decade since.

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THE BOOK OF BASKETBALL, Bill Simmons. We’ve read no less than three profiles of Bill Simmons and his New York Times-bestseller that all follow the same story line: “Who knew so many people would want to read a 736-page hardcover book about basketball?” Um, how about anyone who has ever read his blog? Simmons combines hoops knowledge with savvy pop culture references to give us, if not exactly the NBA Bible, something we’ll still be quoting chapter and verse for years to come. Yes, some of his references are labored and/or won’t age well (Spencer & Heidi, Tiffany Amber Thiessen, etc.), and he throws John Stockton under the bus (despite ranking him a respectable #25 in the Pyramid of NBA All-Stars), but we’ll forgive him. Perfect bathroom reading. We think Bill would take that as a compliment.

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ZEITOUN, Dave Eggers. Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a driven, successful painting contractor, stays behind in New Orleans while his family evacuates prior to Hurricane Katrina. After the levees break, Zeitoun paddles around in a canoe, rescuing trapped residents, checking in on his properties and feeding abandoned dogs. Then, suddenly, he is arrested. What unfolds from there is shocking. No less shocking is that the same Eggers who wrote the showy, exuberant A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius tells Zeitoun’s story with such restraint and understatement, letting the injustices speak for themselves. The result is a riveting, hopeful book of one family’s survival in a time of chaos.

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There’s a lot on our reading list that we didn’t get to this year, notably Mary Karr’s Lit, Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory, The Good Soldiers by David Finkel, and The Flat Belly Diet For Men. More on these when we catch up in the new year.

But wait, you’re saying. Isn’t there an elephant in the room? Wearing James Joyce glasses? Weren’t you part of a certain online literary group that tackled Ulysses? And how did that turn out? Did you put that feather in your cap?

Welllllll … yes and no.

Yes, we tackled Ulysses. We even tackled The Odyssey first. The difference? We finished The Odyssey.

Ulysses? Our bookmark remains on page 167, where it has stayed since mid-September.

So no, we didn’t quite put that feather in our cap.

Will we ever return to the events of June 16, 1904? Maybe. Probably not. If our Virgil pulls us out of the mire, there’s a chance, we suppose. (But that very Virgil has, apparently, quit us for good, instructing us in his last comment (dated October 4) to “enjoy [our] tepid hot dogs.”)

Until then, consider it: Joyce 1, Voreblog 0.

(Sigh.)

Again, thank you to guest blogger Ellen.

Coming soon, maybe even tomorrow: The year in TV! Unless we convince sister Bevin to help us with the music list first!

It’s up. Charlaine Harris has posted Chapter 1 of her next Sookie Stackhouse book — DEAD IN THE FAMILY — on her Web site. CLICK HERE to get to the site and then scroll down to the bottom of the second leg of type at the top of the page and you see the PDF download. Tell me what you think! (Unless you are waiting for the entire book, which is due out  May 4.) Happy reading!

If you wanna take a nifty poll, check out my gal pals’ Sookie Stackhouse site HERE and take their poll after reading the first chapter. (Scroll down the page on the left-hand side and you’ll see the poll.) They also have a podcast where they talk about all things Sookie so if you haven’t had a chance to download it and listen — give it a go. CLICK HERE to access it from their site. (You can also download it — Last Bite Podcast — on iTunes and Blog Talk Radio.)

Charlaine Harris has released a sneak peek of the first chapter of “Dead In the Family”, the 10th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. “Dead In the Family” is set to be released May 2010, but you can read the first chapter over at her website- http://www.charlaineharris.com/DITFChpt1.pdf

Photo via http://www.charlaineharris.com/

In a bazaar in U.P. a few days ago, I spied a stall selling hard-to-find-tomes in mint condition, sold for at least 50% off their original prices. Books make me crazy. Powerbooks, Fully Booked, National Bookstore, Booksale and those curious stalls at the Marikina Shoe Expo–I go, collect and endure the rashes that erupt in my skin from breathing and touching dust.

This bazaar wasn’t dusty and the books were awesome! I couldn’t resist scooping up Night by Elie Wiesel, a collection of short stories and tales by Anne Frank (as in Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl), Bride of the Far Side by Gary Larson and the Calvin and Hobbes Yukom Ho collection. The book collecting madness didn’t end there and I blame True Blood for this!

I said a couple of blogs ago that Dead Until Dark, the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series from which the HBO hit True Blood is based on, isn’t a good read. I still stand by that declaration but the next books in the series (I’m currently reading Definitely Dead) aren’t bad at all.

Maybe Eric Northman had something to do with it. Or Alexander Skarsgard. But if you’re into vampires, go ahead and read Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian. Charlaine Harris’ Sooke Stackhouse novels are a fun read, and you can skip the Twilight series. I promise.

I’m probably the only adult who’s concerned about how people my age and older are still going gaga over Edward Cullen. Expressing judgement without going through the thing isn’t something I do, so I read all four books. Trust me, I don’t know what all the hype is about. Yes, it’s toe-curling for teenagers because Stephenie Meyer wrote those books for that age market. It’s just a litte off how adults are Team Edward or Team Jacob.

Maybe it’s because I can’t turn off certain brain cells, and that’s why I don’t drool, hyperventilate, whatever over Edward Cullen. Or maybe it’s because my brother is named Edward, or that the vampire is a one-hundred-and-one-year-old virgin. Suddenly, Steve Carrell losing it at forty doesn’t seem so bad.

To be honest, I don’t get the appeal of vampires. They can’t go outdoors except at night, so you can’t go to the beach where he can salivate over your bodacious bod in a teeny-weeny bikini. He’s on a liquid diet, and it just blows that you will always eat more. At the back of your mind, you’ll plagued with thoughts about how he thinks you’re a pig for going through a cheeseburger and fries guilt-free. He won’t ever gain weight while you’re always hovering towards size 12.

And they’re broody. Tormented. Emo, even. Ugh. I have a strong suspicion that vampires are the sort to always talk about feelings. You’ll be talking dirty and he’ll find some way to squeeze in misery there. And he’s cold. And he’ll always see you as food. To help him alleviate that temptation, your accessories are limited to crucifixes or silver. How fun.

I wish more writers will write about other mythical creatures. And I don’t mean werewolves either. So far, only Umberto Eco has penned stuff about angels and demons. But what about changelings? Mermaids? Gods? Now that, I would happily collect.

147. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (2009)
Southern Vampire Mysteries, short stories

Length: 192 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Short Stories

Started: 11 December 2009
Finished: 11 December 2009

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? Apart from my determination to read everything Sookie? I wanted to know what critical information I’d missed before Definitely Dead.

Amidst the silly
fun, we finally get some
much-needed answers.

Summary: A Touch of Dead collects all of the Sookie Stackhouse stories that have been published in various anthologies into one slim little volume.

“Fairy Dust” (from Powers of Detection) takes place between Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail, Sookie learns that fairies Claude and Claudette are actually the two surviving members of triplets, and they want her help in tracking down their sister’s killer.

“Dracula Night” (from Many Bloody Returns) also takes place between Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail. In it, Eric is getting Fangtasia ready for the celebration of Dracula’s birth, in hopes that his idol will actually appear. Things, unsurprisingly, do not go exactly to plan, and once again, Sookie’s caught in the middle.

“One Word Answer” (from Bite) is the only story in this collection that contains critical information to the plot of the main books, and belongs in sequence right before Definitely Dead. In it, we finally get the scene where Sookie finds out her cousin Hadley is a) a vampire, and b) dead. We meet Mr. Cataliades for the first time, since he’s the one who has brought Sookie the news all the way from New Orleans… the news, along with other, even more unpleasant things.

“Lucky” (from Unusual Suspects) takes place between All Together Dead and From Dead to Worse. In it, Sookie and her witch roommate, Amelia, team up to figure out who has been rifling through the files of their local insurance agent.

“Gift Wrap” (from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe) takes place a week or two before the start of Dead and Gone. It’s Christmas, and since most of Sookie’s friends are out of town, she thinks she’ll be spending it alone… until she runs into a most unusual person in the woods near her house.

Review: While these stories were a fun brief distraction, there was nothing here that was nearly as good any of the normal series books. Because they came from anthologies, marketed to people who haven’t necessarily read the series books, they’re mostly fluffy and disposable, and filled with exposition that’s unnecessary for those of us who actually are fans. Because they needed to exist separate from the series, nothing of consequence happens or changes, and I noticed a few times that something Sookie learned in a short story had been forgotten by the next book in the sequence. (The flip side of that coin was that there were a few lines in series books – about the tie she gave her great grandfather for Christmas, for example – that are raised from being throwaway comments to something a little more, because we actually get to see the events take place.)

The one exception to the generally light, fluffy, and take-it-or-leave-it nature of the anthology is the story “One Word Answer.” It’s probably the darkest story in the book, and it contains some critical information that would have been excellent to have *before* I started in on Definitely Dead. It was my favorite story of the bunch, but I think that’s mainly because something actually *happened*. As for the rest of them… eh. Harmless, and a fun diversion, but nothing to get too excited over. 3 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If you’re handed a copy of this book before you start Dead as a Doornail, I’d definitely recommend reading the stories in the order that they fit into the chronology of the series. Don’t read ahead, though, or things will get very confusing, very fast. Otherwise, I’d say before starting Definitely Dead, get this collection out of the library and just read “One Word Answer” so that you’re all caught up to speed.

This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: Bookin’ With Bingo, A Bookworm’s World, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Love Vampires, NextRead, SciFiGuy
Have you reviewed this book? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

First Line: The first time I was asked to write a short story aout my heroine Sookie Stackhouse, I wasn’t sure I could do it.

Cover Thoughts: I think that’s supposed to be the dress she’s wearing during “Dracula Night”, so that’s a nice touch. Plus, the moon is sparkly! Yay, sparkles!

super quick post

Charlaine has posted Chapter One of Dead In The Family

Charlaine\’s Blog Link

and the Click Here 4 Direct Link To Chapter

Forum Discussion Thread

Chapter 1 of Dead in the Family is now up on Charlaine Harris’ site

*Trying desperately not to hyperventilate here*

I don’t normally worry about spoilers being splashed about – but since the book is still six months away we’ll keep discussion to the comments. Just so that no one accidentally reads anything here on the main page that they didn’t want to see.

I’m off to read (squeee!). When I’m done I’ll update this post in the comments.

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1) by Charlaine Harris

I’m a sucker (pun intended) for a vampire novel. I remember only a few years ago, you were considered a weirdo if you were into vamp books, now its considered pretty mainstream.

This series has been on my “to read” list for a few years now, i’m a fan of Ms Harris’ other novels. So I bit (ha ha) the bullet and paid the NZ$2 to have my library order it in for me. I’m really glad I did though.

You’d have to throw a stone pretty far to hit someone who hadn’t heard of, or didn’t watch the tv show “True Blood” based on the series. There’s only a small amount of those fans loyal to the show that have taken the time to read the series, and I really believe they should.

This book introduces us to what appears to be your average southern belle; a cute, smart, friend gal with an accent strong enough to make a man weak at the knees. Yup, Sookie’s your average everyday southern lady, except that is, for her ability to read other people’s minds.

Working as a waitress in her small town of Bon Temps, Sookie lives with her grandma. While working one night, sookie meets her very first vampire, Bill Compton.

Its about this time that things get really interesting. Sookie overhears two of her regulars thinking about draining the vampire to use his blood as a street drug much like cocaine or acid.

Sookie decides to take things into her own hands and try to help this tall glass of handsome. Sookie wins the fight and Bill realises there’s something different about our heroine, and she in turn realises she can’t hear bill’s thoughts. Their friendship begins.

I wont ruin too much more of the plot line but lets just say between Sookie, Sam (her boss),  Bill and a whole host of of other characters it was a pretty rockin’ start to a series.

I gave this book 4/5 Stars because, lets face it, No one writers a perfect first book in a series. One of my biggest problems with it was that it wasn’t long enough for my liking.

Anyway the characters were great, you could connect with them and imagine their “world” like theirs without too much trouble.

I’m very excited to read the next book in the series – Living Dead in Dallas.

I just found this crystal clear image of the cover.

What the hell is she doing?? Where the hell is it??

Hopefully today. Or tomorrow.

My compulsive checking of her site is bordering on stalking.

Completely random observation – why does Eric have short hair on these covers, when Sookie goes on and on and ON about his long blonde hair? I guess it’s long-ish here but from the descriptions in the books I always thought it was down past his shoulders.

Weird.

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UPDATE: The cover is up. Still no chapter. Cover has the addition of some sparkles – Sookie’s dress and the rose. It’s very pretty, I think I like this cover the best of all of them.

So finally the hardcore devotees on her forum are allowed to discuss what the rest of the internet has been discussing for well over a week now. There’s some interesting interpretations flying around.

Jeez this is ridiculous, just put the chapter up already! There’s creating suspense….and there’s blatantly milking it. We are definitely moving into the latter.

I probably mentioned that I had an interview at the Field Library in Peekskill a couple weeks back. I’m still waiting to hear back from them, but that should be happeneing some time over the next week or two. I have continued applying for jobs, of course, and as many as can be found that I’m even remotely qualified for. One of the many problems with this is that as many jobs as there are that fit my skill set, there are waaaay more that I’m either over- or under-qualified for. There are also a lot of part-time jobs that I could do, but I don’t know that I’m willing to move across state lines for less than 30 hours/week or $30k/year. I’ve just got to keep plugging, and hopefully something will come through soon. I might have to start listening to O Fortuna while I fill out applications – one of my friends says she was doing that, and she got a job that started a couple weeks ago. I’ve got a classical version as well as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra cut from their recent album Night Castle. Classic music with electric guitars – perfect!

I’ve also been trying to get some good reading done. My current reading material includes Living Dead in Dallas from Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series (the basis of HBO’s True Blood show), Ariana Franklin’s The Mistress of the Art of Death (think the Bones show set in medieval England), and Sister Time by John Ringo and Julie Cochrane. The Ringo book lives up to his usual standard of great mil-sf (military sci-fi) and the rest of the Posleen series. I might be able to finish the Prince Roger series (co-authored by Ringo and David Weber) this year, but it will depend on how my other reading projects are going. OK … signing off with the tought that the Oh, John Ringo, N0! t-shirt seems to have disappeared from CafePress …

Dead As a Doornail

Sookie Stackhouse is back in the fifth book of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries – and she just can’t catch a break.  First, her brother Jason – recently turned into a werepanther - is having a hard time assimilating into his new life.  When weres and shifters become the target of an unknown sniper, Jason becomes the prime suspect among the supernatural community of Bon Temps.  Sookie has to use her telepathic abilities to try to discover who the real murderer is before the pack condemns him to death.

When Sam is numbered as one of the shooter’s victims he enlists Sookie to ask Eric, the owner of the vampire bar Fangtasia, to lend Merlotte’s a bartender while Sam’s broken leg heals.  Still conflicted about what happened between her and Eric when he was under a witch’s curse, Sookie is reluctant to get involved.  Eric presses her for information about what went on before he recovered his memory and agrees to lend a hand only when she tells him what he wants to know.

She soon finds herself in the middle of yet another supernatural phenomenon when the packleader of the werewolves is killed in a car accident and his replacement is chosen after a series of contests in agility and strength. 

A bartending pirate, a devastating fire, an abusive new vampire who has his claws (or fangs, I guess) in Sookie’s friend Tara, another trip to the ER (after her oh so pointless New Year’s resolution of not getting beat up anymore), and of course the reappearance of her first love Bill, keep Sookie quite busy throughout the story.  Throw in some sexual tension with Sam, Eric and Alcide and you’ve got another great Southern Vampire Mystery. 

I love this series because it’s so fun and fast - pure brain candy.  I think I read this last one in about a day.  I’m glad Sookie isn’t quite so obsessed with Bill anymore, although she’s not quite over him yet, and Harris manages to keep throwing in new problems without the characters’ reactions getting old or overdone.  This one focused a little too much on shifters/weres for my taste but I loved it anyway, especially the parts with Eric and Sam.  If you liked any of the previous books it’s safe to say you’ll like this one too. 

These books always pull me into the story and leave me impatient to find out what happens next.

Have you read them?  What are your thoughts?

<span style="color: #382110">my read shelf:</span><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2324423&amp;shelf=read" title="Radio Darkness’s book recommendations, favorite quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)"><img border="0" alt="Radio Darkness’s book recommendations, favorite quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)" src="http://www.goodreads.com/images/badge/badge1.jpg"></a>

1. The Lost Souls
By Poppy Z Brite

2. Obernewtyn
By Isobelle Carmody

3. The Farseekers
Isobelle Carmody

4. Ashling
By Isobelle Carmody

5. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles
By Thomas Hardy

6. Marked
By P.C and Kristin Cast

7. Betrayed
By P.C and Kristin Cast

8. Chosen
By P.C and Kristin Cast

9. Northanger Abbey
By Jane Austen

10. Untamed
By P.C and Kristin Cast

11. Hunted
By P.C and Kristin Cast

12. Evernight
By Claudia Gray

13. Anne of Green Gables
By L.M Montgomery

14. Anne of Avonlea
By L.M Montgomery

15. Dead Until Dark
By Charlaine Harris

16. Living Dead In Dallas
By Charlaine Harris

17. Club Dead
By Charlaine Harris

18. Dead To The World
By Charlaine Harris

19. Dead As A Doornail
By Charlaine Harris

20. Definitely Dead
By Charlaine Harris

21. All Together Dead
By Charlaine Harris

22. From Dead To Worse
By Charlaine Harris

23. Dead And Gone
By Charlaine Harris

24. Wicked Lovely
By Melissa Marr

25. Ink Exchange
By Melissa Marr

26. Fragile Eternity
By Melissa Marr

27. Dragon Keeper
By Carole Wilkinson

28. The Garden Of The Purple Dragon
By Carole Wilkinson

29. The Spiderwick Chronicles : The Field Guide
By Holly Black

30. The Secret Lives Of Elves and Faeries: From The Private Journal Of Rev. Robert Kirk

31. The Clan Of The Cave Bear
By Jean M Auel

32. Valley Of Horses
By Jean M Auel

Christmas is supposed to bring out the best in assholes. The season enhances this quality in cab drivers.

Spare me the talk of little cash for Christmas, of an absent bonus or whatever. That still doesn’t give cab drivers the right to demand for more than half the price indicated by the meter. To think I live quite close to a few establishments, that, even in heavy traffic, won’t last as long as thirty minutes.

It isn’t right. I’m not saying that because I’ve been a victim of this scam a few times. It just isn’t right. I’m always more than happy to tip the driver, but when he demands that I give him an additional fifty pesos on top of the eighty peso cab fare, that’s really, really bad. As a result, I’ve kicked cab doors in retaliation, gave the dirty finger, and let loose a few words that contained things such as, “Tang-ina mo, palibhasa wala kang titi!” (you’re a dickless son of a whore) or “Putang-inang gago ka!”  (the closest to this in English may be asshole, son of a bitch, and all those colorful words bestowed on a cabbie practiced at fleecing the helpless passenger).

Once, I hailed a cab from The Fort after a night of martinis and blow jobs. It was four-thirty a.m., and I was teetering a bit in the four-inch torture chambers at my feet (but still sexy; never mind the pain as long as you look hot). There was zero traffic, and I figured it’d take me around thirty, forty minutes to get home. So this cab stopped in front of me and after telling the driver my destination, he demanded for Php 500! “Hu-what?” I said in disbelief, thinking I misheard it. That was two hundred pesos more than my estimate and that was just abusive, for lack of a better word. I slammed the door and he yelled I was a bitch. I told him to stick his dick where his mother might like it. I was drunk but not that drunk. He had the nerve to shout back that I was bastos!

(Let’s just say that even without alcohol, I do get in a few meaty and nasty comebacks that would make you question your being a man; alcohol improves that)

It took three cabs before one finally pulled over and surprising didn’t negotiate a fee. And when I got home, the total was two hundred and seventy-five. But I gave him three hundred anyway, since he travelled far and wasn’t a jerk. Compare the two hudred seventy-five total against the five hundred and there you go. And have I mentioned this happened in December? 

I take cabs quite often. I like commuting but in a suit it’s simply not ideal. And since we’re all for putting off Christmas shopping until the last minute, we’d definitely end up taking cabs and haggling with these asshole drivers. My advice: don’t ever give them the power. Never let them decide on the route, never let them dictate the payment. “Driver ka nga, ako naman nagbabayad ng sweldo mo.” Drivers always seem to think that with women, they can pull whatever stupid stunt. That’s because they haven’t met me yet.

Some tips I’ve learned from putting off my shopping until the 24th:

1. Get into the malls or bazaars early. Be there when it opens and leave at around three p.m. Even if you get in at two p.m., leave by three. Because by three-thirty, traffic gets real bad.

2. Better if you start shopping early. I know, but here’s my take on it: you saw something that’s perfect for your boss? Then grab it. Chances are, it won’t be there when you return for it after fifteen minutes, and you won’t find it anywhere else. You see something that’s right for someone, GRAB it. At least that’s one or two names crossed out of your list.

Start shopping in installments. A few stuff today, go home. Tomorrow, a few more stuff. That way you won’t have to take the cab and can actually commute. Commuting is cheaper, less stressful and hey, there’s more money for the bejeweled sandals you’ve been eyeing on. Whee!

3. Get everything before the 24th. Especially with  food, what with every person intent on making fruit salad so all those cans of fruit cocktails in supermarkets? Gone. Ham? Gone. Seafood? Those little bits of shrimps are a disgrace at the noche buena table, not to mention that for a kilo, those will go for around Php 700 a kilo. So not worth it. Therefore, shop early.

And a note on gift-giving:

1. Not everyone is creative (like me). So your best bet at giving a kick-ass present is one that your recipient really likes. Does he like Dan Brown? Then by all means, do give it to him, even though you think Angels and Demons reads like a long, boring lecture.

2. You don’t know what your recipient likes (colleague, boss)? The best bets are food and books, I’ve discovered. Some people find it unethical to give gifts to their bosses but if he’s fantastic, then show him thanks. My problem before was, though I knew what my boss liked, I didn’t want to give him anything pertaining to that because that’s what everyone was giving him. I gave him a book, he liked it and we started talking about.

When giving books, steer clear of all those religion and self-help bull. Please. Unless he’s into Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Haruki Murakami, Seamus Hinney, Lorca and Calvino, don’t give him anything written by them either. Go for best-sellers. No, I don’t mean the Twilight box set or the Sookie Stackhouse ones. Think macho.

As for food, there are all these sugarless this and flour-less that so you don’t have to worry about your diabetic friend sticking pins into a voodoo doll version of you because you won’t be endangering her life. If you can bake cookies without burning down the house, then go ahead. If not, there are these dudes selling homemade stuff that’s  just heavenly.

My favorite place to go to for this is Becky’s Kitchen. Their fudge walnut bars are just to die for:

Becky's Kitchen Fudge Walnut bars are perfect year-round, but at Christmas, it's a hell of a lot sweeter.

And chocolate chip cookies (though not Becky’s) are far-out too:

If your friend or boss can't appreciate this, I'm willing to bet his real first name is Ebenezer.

3. Fool-proof-guaranteed-t0-make-you-recipient-go-aww gifts:

For girlfriends:

Anything that’s cute and can be worn to bed. I never give make-up or books to them.

no-frills, basic yet cute sleep shirt, and it's pink! you can't go wrong there.

cute eye-masks! especially when your buds travel a lot. this can also be a good convesation piece with a fellow passenger on the plane, noh?

For your guy:

Now isn’t the time for a naked picture of you or you in bed covered in whipped cream. That’s for his birthday. If you’re uber-generous, give him the PS3. You can give him something such as a basketball signed by his favorite player.

Sometimes, you can also give him something that he never thought of but you knew (this is a little dangerous) he would like more than your naked body (well, maybe). Or it can be something as thoughtful as a new backpack for when your man is into mountaineering. That’s what I’m getting for Dude, as well as some new camping bits and pieces because his equipment is falling apart. And I know he’s been itching to hit the mountains soon. It isn’t exciting, not even remotely sexy, but I know it’ll mean so much to him.

For your platonic guy friends, ditch anything that is monogrammed, squirts ink, is baggy and printed with hearts or sheets with their typed names that contain the words, “This certificate entitles you..” You should feel bad when you even think of giving them those shitty items! A few years back, this friend gave me a neckace with a turquoise pendant because I liked the color blue. Straight guys are known for giving presents to platonic girlfriends that not only rock but are sweet too. Another gave me my favorite children’s book. See? I rest my case.

For your mother:

My mom isn’t domestic, so cookbooks, and anything found in the kitchen doesn’t apply. Necklaces and earrings are more her thing, but even then, you’d have to be a little discriminating. Most of what she wears, she finds in bazaars but she has an eye for detail, so those things look really expensive. I won’t be giving her this:

Nothing bad about this but this isn't her taste.

Mom would appreciate something like this:

It's trendy but tasteful, has the makings of a classic. Exactly what Mom likes.

For his mother:

Err…I have no answer.

Vampire Bill as Camel

Bill Compton as Camel.  I know, it’s weird.

All rights reserved.

By Charlaine Harris

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Ace Books, c2004, 2005

Genres: Mystery, fantasy, dark fantasy, contemporary fantasy, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, vampire

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse); 4

ISBN: 9780441012183

Intended audience: Adult

Number of pages: 291 (310 including an excerpt from the next book – Dead as a Doornail)

Setting: Bon Temps & Shreveport, Louisiana

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Sookie begins her New Year by finding her former boyfriend’s boss, the vampire Eric Northman, running naked through the woods on her way home from work.  When Sookie realizes that Eric has no idea where he is, who he is, or who Sookie is, she invites a whole new set of problems into her life when she takes him home and calls his friends.  Eric has been put under a spell which made him lose his memory.  Unfortunately for the rebounding Sookie, this has made him much more attractive.

Appeal factors:

Pacing: Similar to the previous three books in the series; this story is very fast paced.  Sookie must do most of her resting between books.

Characterization: As with previous books, the story continues to be told in first person through Sookie.  Many familiar characters are found in this story including Alcide Herveaux and Debbie Pelt.  Also, a few new characters are introduced who will probably reappear somewhere later in the series.

Frame: The story begins with Bill trying to explain his actions in the previous book to Sookie before leaving for Peru.  This scene establishes Sookie’s emotional frame for the story – lonely and confused.

Story line: Sookie’s New Year’s wish is to not get beaten up.  While she manages to avoid much physical trauma in this book as she tries to both protect Eric from harm and seek her missing brother, her life continues to be an emotional rollercoaster.  By the end of the book, she is feeling the downhill effects.

Subject headings:

From PCPL:

Vampires — Fiction.

Louisiana — Fiction.

Telepathy — Fiction.

Waitresses — Fiction.

City and town life — Fiction.

Horror fiction.

Occult fiction.

Mystery fiction.

Stackhouse, Sookie (Fictitious character) – Fiction

From NoveList:

Women psychics

Amnesia

Vampires

Witches

Werewolves

Spells (Magic)

Telepathy

Waitresses

Telepathy in women

Small town life — Louisiana

Amnesiacs

Stackhouse, Sookie

Louisiana

Mystery stories, American

Fantasy fiction, American

Occult fiction

Similar authors: Charlie Huston, Laurell K. Hamilton, Marjorie Lui, Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Jeaniene Frost, Sherrilyn Kenyon, MaryJanice Davidson

Personal notes: I love how quickly these stories move, although this story had a much rougher ending for Sookie than the previous book (even though she didn’t get beat up).  It’s definitely part of the series appeal, though – Sookie’s loneliness and longing for both romance and some semblance of a “normal” life.

Other (themes, diversity): Diversity – telepath, vampires, shape shifters, werewolves, witches, Wiccans, fairy, amnesiac

Since the series has grown quite long and complex, the author recommends reading the series in order.

Charlaine Harris’ website

NOTE: This is one of the rare and exciting instances in which I’m going to get to be unique: I’m reviewing a book that is not available to the general public yet. Truly, Madly by Heather Webber won’t be released until February 2010, but I came across an advance copy. This won’t happen often, so enjoy it when it does!

In the interests of covering the widest possible range of subgenres of the fantasy scene, I am reviewing a book in the “supernatural mystery/romance” category. (I don’t know if supernatural romance is the real label for this category. I am referring, of course, to the likes of Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and all their less-talented successors. I got incredibly bored by these books, incredibly fast. They always seem to be about vampires or werewolves or both, and are all too often more of a sexual fantasy than an actual work of authorship. So when I started flipping through the first chapter of Truly, Madly on my break at work, you know I must have been bored. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I was enjoying it. Imagine my greater surprise when I found myself tucking it into my purse, taking it home, and reading the rest.

The reason I was so drawn in? The main character, Lucy Valentine. The Valentine family are the powerful moguls of the matchmaking world, incredibly successful and incredibly wealthy. Their secret? They’ve been blessed by Cupid, and can match people based on their auras! I know you’re rolling your eyes, but bear in mind that they’ve also been cursed: No one in the Valentine family can find love for themselves, only for others. (Okay, now you can roll your eyes.) Lucy is an even more special case: She had an accident as a teenager that stole her ability to read auras, and left her with nothing more than an ability to find lost objects. Lucy is practically considered disabled by her family, and she feels useless beside her father. She sees him devoting his life to making other people happy forever, while all she can do is find their car keys so they don’t get a headache.

The story really starts when her dad gets caught cheating on his wife (who doesn’t care and hasn’t in years), and has to quietly slip out of the country for a few weeks until the media attention dies down. He leaves Lucy in charge of the Valentine business. Lonely, inadequate Lucy. It’s through this character that I judge Webber to be a real protégé of Charlaine Harris—she borrows heavily from both Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly, in my opinion. But that’s why I like Lucy; like Harris’ characters, she’s independent. Her problems are hers to solve, not some unbelievably beautiful vampire. There is, in fact, a love interest─ something inevitable in this genre. He’s a P.I., but he’s got his own problems that, like Lucy, he’d rather deal with on his own. I won’t go into all the details of how Lucy and her guy get together, but bear in mind that this book is mostly a murder mystery, so the involvement of a private investigator is no surprise.

I’m not going to explain the murder mystery part too much. Lucy gets involved when one of her father’s clients mentions a missing ring, she touches him, and she sees the ring on the hand of a skeleton. She looks into it, and not-quite-heart-stopping action ensues. It’s pretty mediocre, as a story. I just like Lucy. She’s spunky and funny, and likes to rescue disfigured animals. I wasn’t enthralled, but I was entertained for the couple of hours it took to read. It’s basically a book to take on an airplane, and it’s not as disturbing as some others I could name in the genre. (Like Night’s Cold Kiss by Tracey O’Hara, in which the main character has ferocious sex with a vampire. Right after meeting him. On an airplane. With other people just outside the door. That’s the scene where I gave up on the book—it was less than halfway.)

The romance really takes a backseat in Truly, Madly to follow Lucy’s personal journey to self-worth, which is refreshing. When it does come into the story, it’s just as offbeat and unique as Lucy herself. The way she copes with the changes in her life gives this book a sense of humanity that so many others are lacking. For the genre, I give this a 4 out of 5. For the fantasy genre as a whole, I give it a 2 out of 5.

Conclusion: I can’t think of a member of the male population that would enjoy this book, and don’t expect much depth. Just enjoy it for what it is.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries the show is based on has been on the edge of my radar for a while. I appreciated the fact that Harris’ vampires were old-school vampires, in contrast with the sparklepires of Twilight. Due to True Blood, though, the books are very in demand at public libraries. I finally got my hands on a copy after foolishly allowing one to slip away from me at a library sale. (It was even the lovely mass market cover rather than the one shown here.)

Dead Until Dark follows Sookie Stackhouse, a Louisiana waitress with a “disability”- she can read people’s thoughts. This makes Sookie’s life very complicated, and her love life is nonexistent. One evening, a vampire walks into the bar and Sookie, to her great surprise, cannot hear his thoughts. Delighted with this, Sookie and the vampire, Bill, start dating. However, women who have been involved with vampires start turning up dead in Sookie’s parish. Sookie has to deal with her suddenly very active love life and discover the killer, because she might be next…

The whole atmosphere in Dead Until Dark is much too cozy, especially concerning Sookie. She is, to me, an unbelievable character. She has a bigger and more negative reaction to Bill walking into the bar with a girl on his arm than she does to realizing he doesn’t have a heartbeat or chastising Bill lightly for murdering people for her. On top of her bizarre reactions to living a life with vampires, she can be inconsistently obtuse. She picks up on human behavior very, very quickly, due to her gift, but when she can’t read the thoughts of a character, she doesn’t for a minute ponder if they are a supernatural creature, like everyone else whose thoughts she can’t read- which means the audience has to wait nearly the entire book for Sookie to cotton onto a fact they’ve realized much too early on. There are very nice bright spots, especially when Sookie explores her long suppressed gift and deals with vampires other than Bill. A scene where Sookie nervously negotiates a deal using her ability with the oldest vampire in the region is wonderful, with all the tension and fear any dealing with vampires should have. But overall, Sookie is just unbelievable. And, since the entire series is from Sookie’s perspective, I think that ends my involvement with the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries.

However, Harris’ world of vampires is wonderful- save for an annoying twee cameo in the last third of the book. Vampires have been recently recognized as citizens of the United States, sending Bill back to Louisiana to finally claim his land. People who sleep with vampires for kicks and giggles are called “fang-bangers” derisively. Vampires have a pecking system based on age, developed over thousands of years due to the fact that they’re going to be living with each other for eternity. She reveals tantalizing bits and pieces of her personal vampire lore in one of the best ways I’ve seen for a supernatural novel- vampires are quite en vogue since “coming out of the coffin”, and most of Sookie’s information comes from afternoon talk shows and such. It’s wonderful.

Harris also gets a point for being matter-of-fact about queer characters in the South. Lafayette, the cook during Sookie’s shift at her bar, is gay, and when Sookie makes an impromptu call to Bill’s house and finds a vampire party underway, she doesn’t blink (much) at one of the male vampires and his male beau. However, introducing Sino-AIDS as a blood disease with a gay character was very disconcerting to me- it’s obviously meant to mirror AIDS, but it feels a little flippant since it’s a bit of a throwaway that doesn’t appear to be addressed in any of the other books. I am told that in True Blood, vampires are susceptible to a strain of hepatitis, which makes heaps more sense to me.

The mystery itself, poor thing, has to compete with Sookie’s love life and dealings with vampires, which dominate most of the book. It’s fairly compelling, especially as it comes closer and closer to Sookie, and it is shocking- but Sookie’s lack of reaction really hurts it, especially towards the first few victims. Still, the climax is thrilling and scary, as it should be.

All in all, while I think I’ll give up on the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries, I think I will give True Blood a shot. It sounds like my favorite kind of book adaptations- one that doesn’t treat the books as completely sacred and unchangeable, and makes changes for the better.

Bottom line: While the vampire mythos Harris has created is fascinating, the unbelievability of Sookie Stackhouse herself fatally wounds an otherwise interesting mystery in Dead Until Dark.

Bill Compton in Sookie Stackhouse's Hair (as Elephants)

I haven’t seen the HBO series, True Blood, so my depiction of Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton is based solely on the Southern Vampire Mystery Series (by Charlaine Harris), plus my own preference for drawing elephants over humans.

For those who haven’t read the books, Bill the side-burned vampire loves to detangle the long blonde hair of Sookie, the cocktail waitress.

(All rights reserved.)

For elephants without fangs, check out 1 Mississippi by Karin Gustafson at Amazon.

144. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (2008)
Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8

Length: 303 pages

Genre: Fantasy; Mystery; Romance

Started: 01 December 2009
Finished: 02 December 2009

Where did it come from? Amazon.
Why do I have it? The box set I bought only included books 1-7, but you know I wasn’t going to stop there.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 19 October 2009.
Verdict? Keeper.

It’s a dog-eat-dog
world… but also vamp-eat-vamp.
What’s a girl to do?

Summary: After the deadly events at the vampire summit, there is major upheaval in the world of vampire politics. And, thanks to her close ties to some of the most powerful Louisiana vampires, small-town telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse is likely to get caught in the crossfire of any power play or takeover. But Sookie isn’t just tied to the vampires; she’s also a friend of the Shreveport Were pack. They’re having their own leadership issues, and when members of the pack start turning up dead, Sookie is in danger of getting herself in the middle of a brewing Were war. And she can’t rely on her boyfriend the were-tiger to keep her safe – he’s been missing since the summit. And, to top it all off, Sookie meets a family member – her great-grandfather – that she’d never known about. Since Sookie’s only other family is her irresponsible and immature brother Jason, a new relative is a big deal… but since her great-grandfather isn’t exactly human, their family reunion seems likely to raise yet more complications.

Review: This book is a bit of a conundrum for me. Its plotline is more scattered that any book since Living Dead in Dallas (my least favorite so far, primarily *because* of its fragmented nature.) And yet, I enjoyed it more than any book since Dead to the World (my favorite so far.) How can I reconcile that?

Maybe it’s because while From Dead to Worse certainly was scattered, and strangely plotted (the big battle that I was expecting to be the climax occurred about halfway through the book), it wasn’t scattered in the same *way* as Living Dead in Dallas. Instead of bringing up a bunch of elements that exist only for the purpose of a single book, From Dead to Worse draws elements from throughout the series, reviving and wrapping up plotlines from many books back, while introducing new elements that will take us into the books to come. I liked that the focus of the story has shifted back to Sookie and away from all supernatural politics all the time, and I enjoyed the fact that she got to spend some more time interacting with her hometown people as well as supes from far and wide.

But I think the real reason that I enjoyed it so much was that it was hugely, compulsively readable. The plot came in a lot of little disparate pieces, sure, but each of the pieces was so good and held my attention so well that on the day I picked it up, I stayed up into the small hours of the night because I didn’t want to stop reading it, and the only reason I didn’t stay up into the wee small hours to finish it was that pesky sense of responsibility telling me that I needed to get at least some sleep. Maybe it was just the right book for the right mood, but for whatever reason, it really worked for me. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: No way this will make sense if you haven’t read the earlier books, but for Sookie fans, I’m pleased to report that this series doesn’t show any signs of a slump in the later books.

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Other Reviews: All About {n}, Angieville, Ashley’s Library, Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Books Lists Life, Darque Reviews, Dear Author (1), Dear Author (2), Fantasy/Sci-Fi Lovin’, Love Vampires, Lurv A La Mode, The Movieholic & Bibliophile’s Blog, Musings of a Bookish Kitty, Rhapsody in Books Weblog, Scooper Speaks
Have you reviewed this book? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

First Line: If this was The Lord of the Rings and I had a smart British voice like Cate Blanchett, I could tell you the background of the events of that fall in a really suspenseful way.

Cover Thoughts: I … don’t get it. But Sookie’s dress is sparkly! Sparkles! I like sparkles! Also, poor Sam, he never gets to be on the cover, even when he gets to be awesome in the book.

Vocab: (see the whole list)

• p. 54: “There was nothing epicene about Eric, nothing ethereally beautiful, either. He was all male.” – belonging to, or partaking of the characteristics of, both sexes.

The cover art for Dead in the Family has hit the interwebs!

It’s not up on Charlaine’s site yet, but from what I can ascertain this seems to have been leaked by her publisher.

So – we have a red rose, front and centre. The red rose of course is most commonly associated with true love. Interestingly, it is also symbolic of respect, and the recognition of courage. Both courage and respect are a constant thread running through Sookie and Eric’s relationship – and this was never more evident than it was by the end of Dead and Gone.

The rose shows two stems entwined, leading into one single bloom. Eric and Sookie’s lives have been entwined for such a long time now and the thorns are interesting too, since that attachment has never been easy for either of them. Are they finally heading in the same direction?

We already know that there’s going to be trouble for Sookie and Eric in this book – the arrival of Eric’s maker Appius, and the discovery of Debbie Pelt’s body practically guarantee it. And of course the reappearance of Alcide, who somehow always means trouble and at least one good bashing – usually of Sookie. Even granting all of that, this cover gives me hope that perhaps – finally – Sookie is going to be willing to allow Eric into her life as a partner and an equal. They’re reaching out for eachother and Eric almost looks as though he’s smiling. Pleeeaase let this happen Charlaine. Don’t make us beg. He has waited SO long and he’s shown the patience of a godamn saint. They deserve it.

I’ve suspected for a while based on spoilers that Sookie may spend some time at Eric’s house in this book – finally accepting after the fae war that perhaps a bit of protection is not such a bad idea in the aftermath. Eric has already offered this to her willingly, and looking at this cover the possibility that Sookie might start to see some sense in Eric’s offer is becoming a little more tangible to me.

I am squeeing here. Tingling right down to my E/S shipper toes.

I might also like to take a self-indulgent moment to reflect on the fact that Bill/Sookie shippers are probably spitting blood, as we speak. Many are convinced that Sookie fell in love with Bill again at the end of DAG, and that the spoilers for DITF about an E/S relationship were either exaggerated or a hoax. For six months we’ve had to cop the most vehement Eric bashing, made worse with the True Blood crowd getting in on the act as well.

Well look at that cover.

They can all kiss my Viking-wench ass.

Source

Charlaine Harris has just confirmed on her forum that the first chapter of Dead in the Family will be up on her website some time in the next 10 days. Dead in the Family is the tenth book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series, and is due for release in early May 2010.

Harris traditionally releases the cover art and the first chapter of her next book for fans in December of each year. The covers always drop clues to key scenes in the book so I’m itching to see it. Harris recently revealed on her blog that the next cover is “sparkly” and sapphire blue “like Eric’s eyes”. [Me thinks after everything she's said about Eric lately she is grovelling in our direction. She kills me].

EricLover83
Ms Harris,
Is there going to be any “formal” acceptance from Sookie that she and Eric are married? I know that she stated that the ceremony she and Eric had she and the state of LA do not recognize it but I was just wondering if she does accept it.

duckpond100

2009-12-09 06:28

You know you’re going to have to wait until the next book to find out more about Sookie’s reaction to the marriage. And I’ll put up the beginning of the next book within the next week and a half. The question about the timing of the next book is harder to answer, since the first pages of it skip over several weeks, hitting down every now and then.

Charlaine Harris

I’ve been checking her site religiously every day since late November – to finally have confirmation of a date has made my day. We’re going to be raking over this thing with a microscope for days probably! Sounds like fun? Oh yes.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

His big dark eyes looked into mine. His fangs had retracted; I was a little disappointed about that.

pg. 12 of Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!